COUNTRY ASSESSMENTS

Country labor assessments have been implemented in eight countries as of June 2010 to provide in-depth information and analysis on gaps in the labor sector and to analyze their implications for development and foreign assistance goals at the country level. Country Labor Sector Assessments have been completed for Bangladesh, Cambodia, Georgia, Honduras, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, and Ukraine.

Each country labor assessment covers the Development Challenge and Political Economy; a gap analysis of the labor sector, comprised of Legal Foundations, Government Institutions, Labor-Related Organizations, and Labor Markets; the Role of the Labor Sector in Overarching Development Themes; Strategic Considerations; and a Results Framework.

Country labor assessments were conducted according to a methodology that can be found in the Strategic Assessment Guide. The Guide provides the tools to conduct labor sector assessments, outlining the necessary steps to be undertaken prior to departure, while in the country, and afterwards when the report is completed; the various quantitative and qualitative data that should be solicited, and a range of questions that need to be probed while in the field and addressed in the assessment report. Two different approaches to country-specific Labor Sector Assessments are elaborated, and an information checklist in order to ensure both adequate coverage while in the field as well as systematic findings that can be compared across countries.

A cross-country analysis of the eight labor assessments can be found in “Why Labor Matters: Practical Findings of the Global Labor Sector Analytic Initiative.”